Captive
by Within Imagination
Summary: Ichigo receives a letter from a mysterious person who has kidnapped all five of his closest friends: Orihime, Chad, Renji, Rukia, and Uryu . The person states that Ichigo has only one day to find and rescue them all... or else they will die.
1. Prologue

I know that I said that I would only be writing one-shots for a while, but this is a story that I have been working on for the past few months. To avoid any errors, I decided that I would simply write the entire story before posting it in chapters. This also allowed me to change any of the previous details to fit the rest of the story and avoid confusion. I will be uploading one chapter per day. I hope you enjoy it. P.S. May contain OOC-ness at same points.

...

"Okay! I'll see you later! Bye!" said a girl energetically as she left the building where she worked. Closing the door, she finally let out the sigh that she had been holding in.

"Oh, I can't believe I worked so late! But I had to take that shift because no one else would... Oh, it's so dark out!" she said as she began to walk along the sidewalk. Suddenly, she gasped as an idea struck her. "I know! I'll call Kurosaki-kun and talk to him until I get ho- But wait, he's probably asleep... And even if he's not, I don't want to disturb his family anyway..."

She sighed. "Maybe Ishida-kun or Sado-kun? Oh, but what if they're asleep?" She sighed once more and continued walking. As she continued on her way, however, she thought that she heard footsteps following behind her. Finally gathering enough courage, she spun around and asked, "Who's there?" But all that greeted her was the darkness and silence of night.

"Okay! Calm down, Orihime, it's just your footsteps echoing, that's all!" she said nervously to herself. Continuing down the sidewalk, she began to hear the footsteps again.

_This is bad! What if it's a stalker? Oh, please don't be a stalker!_

Placing both hands on her hair clips, she turned around once more.

"All right, listen up! Whoever's there had better come out now! I- I'm not joking!" she said with as much force as she could, although she clearly sounded frightened.

Quiet laughter came from a nearby alley. "How humorous- you're attempting to defend yourself. Orihime Inoue, right?"

"Who's there!" Orihime yelled, frantically looking around.

"Don't worry; this will be quick."

A piercing scream rang through the night air before everything went still once more.

...

Chad stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat as he tried to get home quickly. The temperature had been dropping recently and he had no idea that it was going to get so cold that night. Suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the air.

_What? That sounded like Orihime!_ he thought as he began to run towards the source of the cry. Reaching his destination, he found only two small, blue objects on the ground.

_What? Those are Orihime's-_

"Yasutora Sado, I presume?"

He gasped and turned around, but in only a moment his entire world suddenly went black.

...

Renji had no idea what brought him to the world of the living so late at night, but he had sensed something coming from there that he didn't like.

_But why did **I** have to come here? Why couldn't I just let Rukia handle it instead of dragging myself out here..._He sighed as he continued to walk through the streets. _And it's so **cold**!_

He shivered slightly and pulled his coat tighter around him. _And of course I'd be wearing my Gegai, which gets even colder than my real body!_

Suddenly, he heard something running in a nearby alley. "Hey, someone there?"

Peering closer, he realized he couldn't see anything in the darkness of night.

_Probably just some kid who sneaked out of his house._

"Hey, if someone's there, you should go home. It's too cold to be playing games out here," he said as he continued to walk down the street. He groaned as he continued to hear the steps behind him.

"Listen, kid, you'd better get out of here or I'll-"

"You must be Renji Abarai."

Renji gasped and turned around. " Wait- What! Hey! What are you doing! Let-"

The struggle was scarcely heard by anyone as a figure ducked back into the alley, carrying an unconscious red-head over his shoulder.

...

Rukia gasped slightly as she awoke from her sleep. Peeking out of the closet door, she noted that Ichigo was still asleep.

_What was that? It felt like Renji's spiritual pressure, but it's gone now. Hmm, I'd better go check this out._

She put on her shoes and proceeded to quietly open the window and jump out. Making her way across the town, she tried to figure out just where she had felt her friend's spiritual pressure.

_Hmm, I'm sure it was in this area..._ she thought as she began to walk a little slower and survey her surroundings.

_Wait... Is that-?_ She stooped down to pick up a piece of white cloth from the ground.

"And Rukia Kuchiki..."

She gasped as she felt a large spiritual pressure behind her... and then knew no more.

...

_Geez... Prices are just climbing higher and higher, aren't they? I really have to consider getting a job or something..._ thought a bespectacled teenager as he left the crafts store with a small bag in his hand.

_Wait! What was that spiritual pressure?_ he thought as he abruptly stopped and looked towards where he had just felt a large spiritual pressure. _It didn't feel like a Hollow... But whatever it is, it can't be good._

He loosened his left sleeve and allowed the Quincy cross inside to fall out. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he flash-stepped towards the area.

"What the- Rukia?" he yelled as he saw a large, dark figure picking the Soul Reaper up and slinging her over its shoulder. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Uryu formed his bow, but before he could fire any arrows, he felt something pierce his neck. He quickly reached up and pulled it out.

_What- a dart?_

The Quincy's eyes widened considerably as he realized that the figure was now standing right beside him.

_How did he move so quickly!_

He gasped slightly and fell to his knees. _What? That dart... It must have been... a sedative..._

"K'so..." he whispered harshly before he fell forward onto the ground.

"And finally Uryu Ishida; the preparation is complete."

And those were the last words he heard before he felt himself roughly hauled up onto a shoulder, finally losing the battle to stay conscious.

...

Ichigo Kurosaki stretched and yawned loudly as he sat up from his bed.

"Oi! Rukia! You awake, yet?" he asked... to an open closet door. "Huh? That's weird... She must have gone Hollow-hunting early..."

"Nee-chan!" cried a voice as it ran into the room. "Oi! Ichigo! It's horrible! Nee-chan's gone missing! I woke up, and she was gone! Nee-chan! NEE-CHAN!"

The tiny stuffed lion's rants were cut short as a pillow hit it in the face.

"Shut up, Kon! Do want everyone to hear you! Good grief! Rukia probably just felt a Hollow and went to kill it.

"But I woke up in the middle of the night and she still wasn't here!" cried Kon, lifting the pillow up and throwing it back at its owner.

"Really? That's weird..." Ichigo replied as he caught the object and put it back on the bed. "Oh, well. If there's one thing I know, it's that Rukia can take care of herself. Trust me, hasn't she proven it to you by now after all the thousands of hits and kicks you've taken from her? Honestly, Kon!"

Kon started to fume and looked as if he was about to start yelling when the door suddenly burst open.

"Nii-san!"

"Yuzu! What are you doing in here?" asked Ichigo, stuffing Kon into a drawer before his little sister would notice.

"Look, nii-san! You got a package!" she replied, holding up a medium-sized box. "I wonder what it is... It's really light..."

"Well, time to find out! Thanks for stopping by, Yuzu! I'll see you at breakfast, ok?" Ichigo said as he smiled and started to push her out of the room.

"But it's lunchtime already-" she stated before the door shut.

"Hmm, he's probably just really busy... I know! I'll go fix a really good lunch for him!" said Yuzu to herself as she made her way down the stairs.

Meanwhile, back in Ichigo's room, he had just gotten scissors to open the box.

_I wonder what this is... I haven't ordered anything recently... Tch, it's probably something Rukia ordered under my name!_ he thought as he cut off the tape and opened the box. His eyes widened as he viewed its contents.

_What! These are-_ he didn't finish as he lifted the five objects on top into his hands. _These are cell phones... But that one looks like Orihime's; it even has the little sticker on the back... And this one is Chad's... And Uryu's... And these are Rukia and Renji's! What the heck is going on!_

He was almost desperate as he threw the phones down on his bed and peered once more into the box. He pulled out all other objects one by one.

"This is Chad's medallion! And these are Orihime's hair clips! Renji's headband... Uryu's Quincy cross... And a piece from Rukia's skirt!" he said out loud, raising his voice with each new item he found.

"Nee-chan's in trouble!" Kon cried.

"You don't think I realize that?" Ichigo yelled to the mod soul. "And it's not only her... Everyone else is out there, too... And both Uryu and Orihime have lost their main weapons! Just what is going on!"

Suddenly, he noticed one last object at the bottom of the box: a note. "Please let this be some kind of sick joke they're playing on me..." he murmured as he grabbed the note. His eyes widened as he began to read.

_ Welcome to my little challenge, substitute Soul Reaper. I created it just for you to participate in... Of course, you really have no choice since by now you've noticed that I have all of your friends; you will participate if you wish to save them. There is one rule, however- you cannot use your powers at all, unless you want your friends to die prematurely. I will give you only one clue about each of their whereabouts; you have until the end of this day to save them- starting now. See you at the finish line, Ichigo Kurosaki..._

Ichigo was wide-eyed and filled with rage by the time he had finished reading the note.

"Who does this guy think he is!" he shouted to no one in particular. "To kidnap my friends and then force me to play his sick game!"

Kon stared at him before reading the note still in Ichigo's hand. His eyes went wide as he read before he jumped up and down. "Well, what are you still doing here? Go and save Nee-chan!"

Ichigo threw another pillow at him as he searched through the box. "I will! But right now I have no idea where she is! Kuso! He said he'd give me clues, but there's nothing else in here!"

He continued to search the box desperately, dropping the note in the process. As it fell, it flipped to the other side and landed softly on the bed, where Kon gazed at it. "Ichigo! Look here!"

Ichigo stopped his hysterical searching and looked back down towards the paper. "It's on the back? Why didn't I think of that before?" He grabbed the paper and began to read:

_ The cute one you'll find needs a hero to save her;_

_ Lest no else can rescue her from danger._

_ The tanned one you'll find needs to learn how to fly;_

_ Before it's too late and in the grave he'll lie._

_ The tattooed one you'll find simply needs more time;_

_ Before he reaches the end of the line._

_ The small one you'll find may be used to the cold;_

_ But perhaps now she will not be so bold._

_ The pale one you'll find needs to learn how to breathe;_

_ Or else his situation will be dire indeed._

Ichigo put down the note and sighed. "Some clues..." He scrunched up his face and hit the wall as hard as he could. "But they're all I have, so I'll just have to use them... for the sake of my friends!"


	2. Orihime

After he changed out of his sleeping clothes, Ichigo took the note back into his hands and began to read the first clue.

_The cute one you'll find needs a hero to save her;_

_ Lest no else can rescue her from danger._

"That's got to be Nee-chan! She's definitely cute!" cried Kon.

"I don't think so- there's another clue that talks about the 'small one'. I'm pretty sure that's Rukia..." mused Ichigo, continuing to read the clue. After several moments of reading, he closed his eyes and hit the wall once more with his fist.

"This doesn't make any sense!" he cried out. He sighed and lowered his head. "But getting frustrated won't speed things along, either... I have to keep a level head..."

"Tch! You? Keep a level head?" Kon laughed. Ichigo threw him against the opposite wall, making him knock over a pile of magazines as he fell.

"Quiet! I'm trying to concentrate! I just have to stay calm... like Uryu! Yeah, think like Uryu..." Ichigo said, before sighing once more. "Well, that's impossible... _No one_ can think like Uryu!"

"Yeah, that's pretty much a lost cause," said Kon, dusting himself off. Ichigo looked down at him before noticing a few words on an old comic from the pile that Kon had knocked over.

"'Can the hero rescue the damsel from danger'? Kon, that's it!" he yelled as he stood up quickly. "A hero to rescue her from danger! Orihime's at the comic-book store!"

"But wouldn't that be open at a time like this?" asked the stuffed lion.

"No- it closed down about a year ago because it was too far away from all the other stores and didn't get enough business," Ichigo replied. "But, what could possibly be dangerous there?"

Kon thought for a moment, then gasped and began to jump up and down hysterically. "Wait- aren't buildings that have been closed down supposed to be demolished by a year after their closing!"

Ichigo's eyes went wide. "That's right! I even saw them setting up a wrecking ball there yesterday!" He grabbed the note and ran for the door.

"No! Ichigo! Take me with you!" Kon yelled, latching onto one of his legs.

"No, Kon! You stay here and make sure that guy doesn't come after my family!" replied Ichigo, kicking off the mod soul and running down the stairs.

"Fine, but you'll regret not taking me along!" yelled the lion before crossing his arms and stomping back to the room.

"No I won't!" was the last thing Kon heard of the orange-haired Soul Reaper for the rest of the day.

...

_Kuso! I can't believe it!_ thought Ichigo as he ran quickly through the streets. _All of my friends- kidnapped in just one night! Who would do something like that... No- who COULD do something like that? One thing's for sure: the others wouldn't just lie down and be captured, so that must mean that whoever did this was strong enough to overpower all of them... Not good._

Ichigo ceased his musings as he neared his destination: a lone comic-book store a few miles from any others. He sped up considerably and stopped outside the door, using all of his strength to break off the wood covering the door.

_That's strange... There's no workers around anywhere..._

Cautiously, he entered the building. It was exceptionally dark inside, considering the wood over the windows blocking out the light. The only window left uncovered was shining on a door towards the back of the store.

_Hmmm, a little obvious, don't you think? _he thought as he made his way to the door.Every shelf, rack, and counter was covered in dust, causing Ichigo to touch them and make sure that they weren't just naturally grayish-white in color.

"Man, this place is a dump..." he said aloud. Suddenly, he whipped his head up as he heard a muffled scream.

"Orihime? Orihime, where are you?" he yelled. He heard another muffled yell, and determined it to be coming from the room he had already been heading for. He tried to open the door, but found it locked. Letting out a frustrated yell, he used all his strength to kick the door in, only to start coughing violently at the amount of dust he had scattered throughout the air.

"Orihime!" he called, still coughing and trying desperately to see through the dust.

"Mmmphh!"

As the dust cloud settled, Ichigo ran into the room. What he was looking for could be found in the center of the room, tied securely to a chair and gagged as well.

"Orihime! Thank God- you're okay!" Ichigo said with a relieved smile. But the smile left his face as he realized that Orihime would not stop her muffled cries, and her eyes had grown very wide.

"Orihime? What is it?" asked Ichigo as he untied the gag around her mouth.

"ICHIGO! THE WINDOW!" she screamed. He turned around quickly, his eyes widening as he realized just what she was looking at- the wrecking ball was swiftly headed straight for the store.

"What the-!" Ichigo yelled. "Hold on!"

He covered Orihime with his body as best as he could with her still tied to the chair.

The wrecking ball hit the building not a few seconds afterwards.

Orihime screamed loudly as the chair was flung backwards and Ichigo was thrown to the other side of the room.

"Ichigo!" she cried, coughing as she desperately wished to see her friend in the dust cloud surrounding them.

"I'm here!" he replied, also coughing. She felt something bump into the back of her chair, and then a hand touched her arm.

"There you are!" Ichigo cried as Orihime gave a sigh of relief.

"Come on," he said as he began to untie the ropes. "We have to get out of here before that thing comes back! It didn't make it this far the first time, but I'm sure it will the next time around!"

Finally finished untying his friend, they both stood up. Ichigo took Orihime's hand and began running, desperately trying to find a different way out, considering the way he had come in had just recently been demolished.

He sighed as he found a door with the sign "Exit" above it. He kicked it once, but it didn't fall. He growled slightly and kicked it again, still unsuccessful in breaking it down. Suddenly, a sickening sound filled their ears- the sound of the wrecking ball hitting the building once more.

Orihime screamed loudly as Ichigo continued to kick at the door.

_Kuso! I wish I could use my Soul Reaper powers! Open, door, OPEN!_ he yelled to himself. Debris began to fall all around them, when finally, the door crashed down and light flooded their vision.

Still grasping Orihime's hand tightly, Ichigo raced out the door; but as he looked towards the wrecking ball machine, he noticed something that made his hair stand on edge... it was completely empty.

They ran for a while after that, not daring to turn around and see what became of the store they were just recently in. Finally, they both stopped and collapsed onto their knees. Finally finding enough courage to look back, they both saw a large cloud of dust where a comic-book store had once been.

Orihime closed her eyes tightly. "Ichigo! What was that! What just happened!" she cried, tears beginning to stream down her face. Ichigo went over and hugged her tightly, allowing her to cry into his shirt.

"It's okay now, Orihime; don't worry. What happened to you, though? Who put you in there?"

Orihime sobbed against his chest. "I don't know! I was just walking at night, and then I heard someone! I don't remember anything after that, but I when I woke up, I was in that room! I didn't know what happened- I didn't know where I was- and my hair clips were gone! I was just so scared!"

Ichigo continued to hug her. "It's all right now. You're safe."

But in his mind, he was far from relaxed. _There were NO construction workers at that store when I got there! That means it must have been the one behind all of this... And Orihime doesn't even remember what happened... Oh well, the good thing is that she's safe. I made it in time..._

Suddenly, he straightened up slightly. "Oh, these are yours." he said, holding up her hair clips.

She gasped. "Ichigo! Where did you get these?" she asked, wiping away the last of her tears.

"They came in a box that was outside my door this morning. And here's your cell phone," he replied, handing her the phone as well. She smiled and took it along with her hair clips, returning them to their rightful places.

"Thank you so much, Ichigo," she said.

Ichigo merely nodded. He didn't dare tell her about the empty machine, but he knew that she needed to know what was going on. "Orihime, I know you probably don't want to hear this right now, but you weren't the only one who was taken last night."

The other teenager gasped.

"Chad, Renji, Rukia, and Uryu were taken, too."

"What?" Orihime cried. "Oh, no... this is horrible..." She brought her hands down to her lap, when suddenly she felt something in her pocket.

"Hmm? What's this?" she asked, taking out a piece of paper.

"Let me see," Ichigo said. She handed him the paper, and he began to read aloud.

"'The first one may have been easy indeed,

But the farther you go, the worse it will be'."


	3. Chad

Orihime gasped once more. "You can't be serious? Worse than that?" she cried.

"Apparently so," Ichigo replied with a sigh. "But one thing's for sure: right now we have to go and find Chad- he's the next one down from you."

Orihime nodded gravely as Ichigo took out the paper with the clues to his other friends' whereabouts. "Okay, this is Chad's riddle:

The tanned one you'll find needs to learn how to fly;

Before it's too late and in the grave he'll lie."

They both sat silently for a few moments before Ichigo pounded a fist into the ground with a curse. "How the heck are we supposed to figure these out?"

Orihime took a closer look at the note. "Well, I don't really know what flying has to do with anything, but maybe the 'in the grave he'll lie' means that he's at the graveyard?" she suggested.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Orihime... That's brilliant!" He stood up and pocketed the piece of paper. Orihime proceeded to get up as well.

"Orihime, listen," Ichigo said, turned around so that he wouldn't have to face her. "I don't want you to get captured again- or, even worse, hurt, so please don't follow me. Just go home for now and stay there until I get this guy, all right?"

Orihime's eyes widened. "But- Ichigo! I couldn't! They're all my friends, too!" she cried.

"I know, Orihime, but I- I just- I couldn't stand to see you like that again..." Images of Orihime's terror-stricken face flashed through Ichigo's mind even as he tried desperately to forget them. "Please, Orihime... I promise you- I'll find everyone and bring them home!"

And with that, he began running as fast as he could to the graveyard... and away from the girl staring wide-eyed at his retreating form.

Orihime stood there a few minutes longer, before smiling slightly. "I know you will, Ichigo. I know you will..." She wiped away a few tears before heading back towards her home.

...

Ichigo rammed into the gate to the graveyard with so much force that it nearly broke from its hinges. Luckily, there was no one around to see him frantically yank the gate open and rush inside.

"Chad!" he yelled. "Chad!"

He ran all the way around the graveyard screaming the larger teen's name before once more taking out the note.

_Kuso! There has to be something in this note that will help!_ he thought as he read it over. _Wait! He has to learn how to fly? Then he must be someplace high up!_

With that, he pocketed the note and began to look around for any tall objects. There was a rather large building in the middle of the graveyard, obviously housing the body someone too important to be buried underground. As he neared it, he noticed an open grave with a piece of tarp over it in the ground next to the structure.

_That's strange... Who would put a grave here?_

Circling the grave, he noticed that large piles of dirt were being used to hold the tarp in place above the grave.

_What an idiotic thing to do! If someone happens to step on the tarp, they'd fall straight into the grave and be buried alive by that dirt!_ Ichigo's eyes widened largely as he remembered what the clue had said. _In the grave he'll lie... It can't be!_

He jerked his head to look upwards and gasped as he saw a chair hanging precariously over the edge of the building's small balcony- tied to that chair was a certain well-built teenager.

"CHAD!" Ichigo yelled as he ran into the building, trying to find a way up. "Don't worry, Chad! I'll be up there soon!"

_But how is that chair staying in place and not falling? And if he's been there this whole time, why hasn't he answered my calls?_

He found a few stairs in the building and climbed them, reaching his destination. He was about to open the doors leading out to the balcony when he noticed something strange sticking out from in between them.

"What's this? Rope?" he asked aloud. His eyes widened in realization as he ran to a nearby window, hoping that his theory wouldn't be proven true.

He gasped as he realized he was, in fact, correct- Chad was tied to a chair that was leaning off the edge of the balcony... while a rope in his mouth was the only thing keeping him from falling.

Ichigo swore loudly. _What am I supposed to do then! If I open the door, he'll fall!_

"Hang in there, Chad! I'm going to find a way out there!" Ichigo reassured, noticing the other teenager looking at him with worried eyes. _But I can't climb out this window- it's too small!_

Suddenly, Ichigo noticed something strange halfway down the rope on the ground. _Wait- what is that? Is that a... CANDLE? No! You've got to be freaking kidding me! That guy wasn't kidding when he said that things were going to get harder! Just hang on, Chad! I'm GOING to get you out of there somehow!_

Frowning determinedly, Ichigo set about looking for other ways to get out to the balcony. _What do I do! Where do I go! I wish Uryu were here! That know-it-all would come up with something! All right, Ichigo; it may be impossible, but just try to think like Uryu!_ Ichigo sat cross-legged on the ground and clenched his eyes together. _Who am I kidding! I'm not Uryu, so I can't think like him! But I know he probably would have blown this whole thing through the roof by now..._ Ichigo chuckled slightly, despite the desperate situation, before his eyes suddenly snapped open. _Wait a minute... The roof! I can jump down onto the balcony from the roof!_

Ichigo stood up quickly and began looking for ways to get to the roof. Running to the far end of the room, he found a window large enough for him to climb out of. He grasped the outside and pulled himself out, placing his feet on the windowsill. His hands reached for the nearest thing to pull himself up farther, though he nearly fell as he realized that that thing was a very menacing-looking gargoyle.  
><em>Geez, why do they even put those things here?<em> he thought grimly as he latched onto it and pulled himself up higher.

Grabbing onto anything he could find, Ichigo finally made it to the top of the structure and located a spot where he could jump down onto the balcony. After succeeding in doing so, he ran over to the figure in the chair.

"Chad! Hey! It's okay; I'm going to get you out of here," he said as he began to untie the ropes binding him to the chair. Unexpectedly, he realized that Chad's eyes had widened considerably and seemed to be looking at something behind him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked as he turned around. His own eyes widened as he realized that the candle was gone and replaced with another object above the rope- a knife... hanging in mid-air.

"What the-!" but Ichigo didn't finish his sentence as the knife came down on the rope, causing it to break under the combined weight of the chair and Chad's body.

"NO!" Ichigo yelled as he grabbed the chair's legs. He panted heavily as he used all of his strength to pull the chair back up onto the balcony. With a final pull, he managed to succeed and crashed to the floor of the balcony with the chair and its occupant. The floating knife was gone.

"Chad! Chad! Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

Spitting out the remaining rope in his mouth, Chad replied hesitantly, "I'll be a lot better once you untie me."

"Oh, yeah, right..." Ichigo said with an embarrassed laugh as he finished untying the ropes binding his friend to the chair.

"Come on, now; let's get out of here," said Ichigo.

"Couldn't agree with you more," the larger teen replied as they both headed back down the stairs and out of the building.

"Any ideas who did this to you?" asked Ichigo as they ran out of the building and across the graveyard.

"No. I just lost consciousness suddenly- last night, I think," relied the other.

Ichigo nodded in understanding as they finally exited the graveyard.

Once they were in a safer location with many people around, Ichigo finally decided to ask the question that had been haunting him since he had been on the balcony. "Chad? Tell me you saw that knife floating in mid-air on the balcony..."

"Well, if I didn't, then the rope must have just cut on its own..."

Ichigo sighed heavily. "Just what's going on here! What was that thing! It showed up when I went to rescue Orihime, too!"

"Wait a minute- Orihime was taken, too?" Chad asked worriedly.

"Yeah- she's fine; don't worry," Ichigo replied. "I told her to go home, and I think you should, too. Renji, Rukia, and Uryu are still out there somewhere, and this guy wants me to find them. I don't want to put you in anymore danger."

Chad seemed about to argue, but closed his mouth and simply nodded when he saw the look in Ichigo's eyes- he would get in the way if he went with him.

"Good; I'll let you know when everyone else is safe," Ichigo said as he began to walk away.


	4. Renji

"Good; I'll let you know when everyone else is safe," Ichigo said as he began to walk away.

"Wait," Chad said. "Just how are you going to find them?"

"I have these clues," Ichigo replied, pulling out the paper. "Renji's next on the list."

"Let me see; maybe I can help," said Chad. Ichigo handed the paper to him.

Chad frowned slightly. "'The tattooed one you'll find simply needs more time; before he reaches the end of the line.'..."

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, any ideas?"

Chad looked up with a surprised look on his face. "You're handling this much calmer than usual..."

"Yeah, I know. I've got to keep my head or else I'll never find them, though... Don't get me wrong! I'm dying to tear this whole town apart looking for them, but if I do that it will take too much time and it will be too late. It's already around five o'clock, and I only have until the end of the day!" Ichigo replied. Chad smirked slightly.

"Wow- that's very Uryu-like..." he said.

"Yeah, I know! Awful, huh?" Ichigo replied, sending them both into a tiny fit of chuckling. Suddenly, Chad's eyes widened.

"Huh? What is it?" asked Ichigo.

"The riddle. I think I know where Renji is," Chad replied. Ichigo looked up expectantly.

"Do you see this? It says that he needs more time. Maybe that means he's near a clock- or a lot of clocks."

"Chad, you're right!" Ichigo said. "But- there's no clock shops around here that aren't stuffed full of people... How could he be in one of them?"

Chad's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps, that small clock tower in the park? The one they built to be a likeness of the one in England, only much smaller? There shouldn't be many people around that- no one's allowed inside."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Of course! Thanks, Chad!" He grabbed the note and began running towards the park. "Like I said- I'll call you once everyone's safe!"

"Oh, and these are yours! You'll kind of need them for me to call you anyway!" he added, turning around and tossing the other teen his medallion and cell phone.

Chad nodded gratefully as he caught them. "Be careful."

...

"Hey, watch it, kid!" cried a man as many others were pushed out of the way by an orange-haired teenager running through the park.

"What's his problem?" asked another one as many people stared at the teen's retreating form.

Little did they know of the teen's situation and how he was on a desperate race to save his friends from the hands of some psychopath he didn't know.

_I have to hurry! Even after I rescue Renji, I still have Rukia and Uryu to go!_ Ichigo thought as he continued running as fast as he could through the park.

"There it is!" he cried aloud as he saw the clock tower come into view. "Lucky for me, no one's around!"

He slowed to a walk as he neared the structure. It wasn't the best architecture, but it was definitely large enough to hold a few people at a time and tall enough to nearly kill someone if they fell from its peak. Grimacing from the thought, Ichigo looked around and found a door on the side of the structure that only maintenance officers used.

"Kuso! Just my luck!" he yelled, kicking the door as he also found it was locked. Suddenly, he remembered about the Swiss army knife he always kept in his pocket. Pulling it out, he tried to find one small enough to fit in the lock. Once this was achieved, he placed it into the lock and began to move it around, hoping to hit the lock mechanism. His hopes were answered as he heard an almost inaudible '_click!_'. He slowly pushed the door open, as it was quite heavy and rusted from lack of use.

Ichigo coughed as clouds of dust flew towards him from the outside breeze. After finally finding air again, he cautiously stepped into the structure.

_Wow... This goes a lot deeper than I thought..._ he thought as he stepped up to the railing protecting anyone from falling off of the upper floor he was currently on. _The builders must have made it go deep underground so that it won't collapse in on itself. There certainly is a lot of machinery..._ Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Ichigo remembered what he was here for.

"Renji?" he called. "Renji?"

"Ichigo?" echoed a voice.

"Renji!" Ichigo yelled, looking all around. "Where are you?"

"I'm up here! Above you!" the voice echoed once more.

Ichigo looked up and quickly spotted his friend dangling upside-down from the ceiling by means of a thick rope tied around him. "Renji!" he gasped.

"Yeah, haven't you figured that out already?" cried the red-headed Soul Reaper. "Just get me down from here! I've been hanging upside-down for ages!"

"Yeah, yeah, give me a minute!" Ichigo yelled back before lowering his voice. "Geez, I only just got here and he's already annoying..."

Looking down, however, Ichigo realized the cause of Renji's distress: at the bottom floor were various shapes and sizes of cogs and other devices- all of them sharp enough to impale anyone unlucky enough to fall down there. His eyes widened and he began to look around for anything that could be useful in getting him up there.

"Hey, Renji!" he called, still looking around.

"What!"

"Do you have any idea who did this to you?"

"No clue! I was just looking around for a strange spiritual pressure I felt, but after that I don't remember anything!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. _So whoever this guy is, he definitely has significant enough of spiritual pressure for Renji to notice..._

"Oi! What's taking so long?"

"Just be quiet! This is hard enough without you yelling at me!" Ichigo shouted back. Renji grunted, but stayed silent.

_Come on... There's got to be something around here that I can- ah ha!_ Ichigo ran over to the metal ladder on the wall next to him.

"Don't worry, Renji! I'll be up there soon! Just hang in there!" he shouted as he began to climb.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" cried the other, swinging himself around so that he could see Ichigo. "Ichigo! Be careful! That ladder looks pretty old and rusted!"

"Oh! So now you care, huh?" Ichigo huffed as he continued to climb.

"Look! I'm just saying that it could easily-" but Renji's comment was cut off by a loud, ominous creaking that echoed through the room followed by Ichigo's surprised yelp as the ladder broke, making him lose his grip and begin to fall backwards- straight towards the sharp mechanisms below.

"Ichigo!" yelled Renji.

Thinking quickly, Ichigo grabbed the bar of the railing with one of his hands as he fell past it. He jerked to a stop, pulling some of the railing down with him under his weight. Wincing in slight discomfort, he pulled his other hand up to grasp the railing as well; but as he tried to pull himself up, the railing creaked under the pressure. _Kuso! What do I do now? If I stay here much longer, it'll break!_

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He started to swing slowly, back and forth... back and forth... back and forth... The railing swung along with him, creaking loudly with each movement. Finally, Ichigo swung high enough and pulled one of his legs up, planting it firmly on the floor of the ledge he had been on when he first arrived. He secured the leg around another bar of the railing just as the one he had been holding onto with his hands finally broke. He let out a sigh of relief as he lifted his other leg onto the floor as well. He let himself hang backwards for a moment in order to catch his breath before pulling himself completely back onto the ledge. He heard Renji let out a loud sigh of relief as well.

"I told you," he said.

"Get over yourself! I was nearly just impaled!" Ichigo yelled back. He let out another sigh as he looked up towards the ladder where he had just fallen. His eyes widened as he saw something right next to the spot where it broke. _Are- are those-?_

"Renji! Do you see what I see?" Ichigo yelled, standing quickly.

Renji spun himself around and gasped. "What- what are those? Are those- floating pliers!"

"What the heck is going on here? The ladder didn't break! It was cut by- whatever those are!" Ichigo yelled.

But as suddenly as the pliers appeared, they disappeared as well.

"Hey! Where'd they go?" yelled Renji.

"I don't know! I just blinked and they were gone!" Ichigo replied.

_What IS going on here!_ he thought angrily.

"I saw - or rather didn't see- the same thing when I rescued both Orihime and Chad! I have no idea what it was!" Ichigo said.

"Wait! The others were taken as well?" Renji asked. "How? When?"

"Same as you, last night. It's a long story, but here goes: it all started this morning when..." As Ichigo began to tell the story of the mysterious being and his challenge, he found a long pipe stretching from the ground up to the platform where he could pull Renji up and untie him. There were many spaces along the pipe, so it didn't take long for him to climb it and jump onto the platform.

"So now, here I am," Ichigo finished, gasping for air after having to climb a long pipe while also speaking nonstop.

"So then, you've rescued Orihime, Chad, and now me... That only leaves Rukia and Uryu, right?" Renji asked.

"Yeah; and I only have a few hours left, so I'd better hurry up here," Ichigo replied, grabbing the rope that Renji was tied to and beginning to pull him up.

"Ugh! Renji! You weight a ton!" Ichigo grunted as he continued pulling.

"Shut up! You're just weak!" replied the other.

"Well, excuse me! I just had to climb a long pipe, you know!" Ichigo stated, finally managing to pull Renji up completely.

"Yeah, whatever, just untie me!" Renji said.

"With pleasure! Once I'm done here, you need to go back to the Soul Society and tell them about all this-"

"No! You must be joking if you think I'd just up and leave Rukia out there somewhere! I'm going with you! No excuses!" Renji replied as Ichigo finished untying him.

"No! That guy just wants me to rescue them; it's a challenge he made for me! If you come along, he may hurt Rukia and Uryu..." Ichigo said, trailing off at the last part. Renji closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, then stood up and offered Ichigo a hand.

"Well, then, what if I say you have no choice in the matter? I'll just follow you anyway?" he smirked.

Ichigo looked up and smiled, grabbing the hand. "I'd say, all right then! He can't do anything about that, now, can he?"

"Right; let's get going then!" Renji said.


	5. Rukia

Once Ichigo and Renji were outside of the clock tower, they each read the clue to Rukia's whereabouts.

"Hmmm... 'The small one you'll find may be used to the cold; but perhaps now she will not be so bold'," Renji said. "What the heck does that mean?"

"I don't know! That's what we're trying to figure out!" Ichigo replied.

They both sighed loudly and fell back onto a bench.

"Oh, yeah; here's your head band and cell phone," Ichigo said, handing said objects to the other Soul Reaper.

"Thanks; I was wondering where these went," Renji replied. A few moments of silence followed as both tried to figure out their next course of action.

"It's going to be night soon..." Renji finally said.

"Yeah, so I noticed. It's probably around seven o'clock now... And we only have 'til midnight..." Ichigo replied. "I should have brought a thicker jacket. It's going to get pretty cold after the sun goes down."

"Yeah..." Renji said. Suddenly his eyes went wide as he realized something. "Ichigo! What if Rukia's somewhere cold! Like a big freezer or something?"

"Hey! You're right! There a meat-packing factory at the other end of town! It has about a dozen huge freezers!" Ichigo replied, jumping up from the bench.

"We have to get there- fast! If Rukia's been there all this time, she must be freezing by now!" Renji said, also standing from the bench.

...

They were both almost completely out of breath by the time they reached the factory. The sun had already gone down and was just barely shedding light across the horizon.

"Come on! The place is closed by now, so we can just walk straight in as soon as we find a way to unlock the door!" Ichigo said.

"But, I don't get it, if Rukia's been here all day, wouldn't some of the workers have noticed her?" Renji asked as they approached the door.

"They don't use every freezer every day. Some freezers probably haven't been used in years. I don't know why they even have so many," replied the other.

"Well, let's just hope Rukia's in one of them. It took us a while to get here, and we still have Uryu to find!" Renji said. "All right, let's get this lock off."

He was about to slash it with Zabimaru, but Ichigo quickly stopped him.

"Wait! The guy said that I couldn't use my Soul Reaper powers or else he would kill the ones we haven't found yet! That means you can't use yours either, just in case!" he said.

"Tch- fine, then! How do you propose we break the lock?" Renji asked.

"The same way I did with the last one I had to deal with," Ichigo said, bringing out his Swiss army knife. The lock clattered onto the ground not thirty seconds later, with Ichigo smirking victoriously at Renji. Renji merely pushed past him and opened the door.

"Rukia? Oi! Rukia?" he yelled.

"Quit yelling! Even if the freezers were here, she probably wouldn't be able to hear you through the thick metal doors!" Ichigo said. "Come on, the freezers should be this way!"

"How do you know so much about this place?" Renji asked.

"I went on a field trip here in 8th grade. I didn't really pay all that much attention, but I know where the freezers are." replied the other.

Many long hallways and turns later, they arrived in a large room with three large doors on each wall- each door was covered slightly with frost.

"Here they are- these are the freezers," Ichigo said. "Now we just have to figure out which one Rukia's in."

"Hey! Look at that!" Renji said as he pointed to an object in the middle of the room. It was a small television, with a camera attached to the top. The television showed a room filled with ice and a dark figure sitting in the middle, curled tightly around itself.

"Rukia!" Ichigo and Renji both yelled. The figure looked up at the screen.

"Ichigo! Renji!" she sighed in relief.

"You can hear us?" asked Renji.

"Yeah! There's a television in here, too. It has a camera attached, as well," she replied.

"Don't worry, Rukia! We'll get you out of there!" Ichigo said.

"Thanks! Hurry! It's getting really cold in here..." replied the small Soul Reaper.

"Yeah, sure, just tell us which one you're in!" Renji said.

"I'm in Freezer 9," she replied. "I see the number on the back of the door."

"Right! Freezer 9! We're on it!" Ichigo said as he ran up to the door of said freezer. He attempted to turn the large handle in the middle of the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh, come on! Just let me do it!" Renji said as he pushed Ichigo out of the way and began to pull at the handle himself. As he grunted while attempting to move the stubborn object, Ichigo noticed a piece of paper attached to the back of the television.

"Renji, stop- you'll only exhaust yourself. Look here, there's a code," said Ichigo as he passed the note to the other.

The note read: _Since you have not done what I have spoken, enter the code or the door will not open._

Renji cursed. "How could he do that so quickly!"

"The same way he got the television in here so quickly..." Ichigo replied.

"Uh, guys? I don't mean to rush you, but it's suddenly gotten a LOT colder in here than it has all day!" said a voice from the television.

"What?"

"Yeah, I think that, somehow, the temperature is dropping!" Rukia replied.

"Kuso! He's controlling the temperature now, too!" Ichigo yelled before turning to Renji. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't come along, this wouldn't have happened!"

"My fault? I don't see you coming up with anything that could save Rukia!" Renji replied.

"Guys, stop it!" Rukia yelled. "Fighting isn't going to g-get us anywhere! We just have to s-stick together and t-think this through!" Rukia said, her words beginning to break as she shivered.

"Oh, Rukia..." Ichigo said. "We have to get you out of there..."

"It all right, g-guys," Rukia said. "Even if you c-can't get me out, I'm happy just knowing that you t-tried... Besides, don't you h-humans have a saying that goes something like 'friendship never dies'?"

"Yeah... I've heard that," Ichigo said sadly before his eyes widened. "Wait a minute! Friendship never dies? That's it! Rukia, how did you know about that saying? I know I've never told you about it; did you read it somewhere?"

"N-no, I-I don't know where I learned about it. I- I think I may have heard it last night s-sometime..." she replied.

Ichigo wasted no time as he hurriedly entered the phrase into the keypad by the door. There was a loud '_click!_' that echoed through the room.

"All right!" Ichigo yelled as he rushed back over to the door of Freezer 9 and turned the handle. This time, the door came open easily and both male Soul Reapers swiftly entered the freezer.

"Geez, it's freezing in here!" Renji yelled as he hurried over to Rukia's side. Ichigo quickly took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders as Renji began to rub her arms.

"T-thanks, guys," she said as they led her out of the room.

"No problem; but, Ichigo, how did you know that that was the code?" Renji asked.

"Well, it's just a hunch, but I think that whoever this guy is, he has some serious friendship issues. And, considering Rukia heard about the phrase sometime last night, I figured it was at least worth a shot. Maybe that guy said it so that we could use it as another hint," he replied.

"Yeah, you're right..." Rukia said before looking to both sides. "By the way, I'm feeling a lot warmer now, guys, so you can quit hugging me."

Both Renji and Ichigo's eyes went wide as they realized that they were both indeed hugging Rukia tightly in between them. Pulling away quickly, they both began coughing nervously and attempted to make excuses. Rukia rolled her eyes and smiled.

_That's weird... That thing didn't show up this time..._ Ichigo thought suddenly.

"Okay, so maybe now you'd like to tell me what's going on?" Rukia asked after a long silence.

"Oh, right," Ichigo replied as he began to retell the story. Rukia was deep in thought by the time Ichigo was finished.

"So, do you have any idea who might be behind all of this?" asked Ichigo.

"No- sorry. I have no clue who would do this. But whoever he is... he owes me a new skirt!" Rukia yelled, lifting the bottom of her skirt to reveal a missing piece of fabric. Both Ichigo and Renji chuckled.

"Here's the piece- it came in a box with your cell phone, too," Ichigo said, handing her the objects. "Don't worry about the skirt, I'm sure Uryu can sew it back together- wait- Uryu!"

"Oh, no!" Rukia gasped. "We have to find him! He could be anywhere and we only have three hours left!"

"Right!" Ichigo said. "Let's go!"


	6. Uryu

"Wait- Uryu!"

"Oh, no!" Rukia gasped. "We have to find him! He could be anywhere and we only have three hours left!"

"Right!" Ichigo said. "Let's go!"

They all stood up from where they had previously been sitting on the ground as Ichigo pulled out the piece of paper with the clues.

"Okay, Uryu's clue says, 'The pale one you'll find needs to learn how to breathe; or else his situation will be dire indeed'," Ichigo said. "Now we just have to figure out what that means..."

"Well, if he needs to learn how to breathe, maybe he's somewhere where he can't breathe..." Rukia said, deep in thought.

"But that would mean that he's being suffocated- or drowned!" Renji stated.

"Gee, thanks for the mental image, genius!" Ichigo shouted.

"Poor guy..." Rukia said. "He's been out there all day... We need to figure out just where he could be."

There was a moment of thoughtful silence before Ichigo gasped.

"I think I know..." he said gravely. "There's a dam nearby that has several aqueducts."

"But aren't they each caged off?" Renji asked.

"Yeah, and that's not all- these aqueducts were constructed just as deep holes in the ground that fill up and drain water every day so that the river doesn't overflow," he added.

"So if anyone happens to be inside of one when it fills up with water..." Rukia began.

"...they won't be able to get out before the water reaches the top," Renji finished.

"Well, then, let's hurry up and get there! Uryu needs us! Come on!" Ichigo yelled, looking about ready to kill anyone who came within five feet of him. _Whoever this guy is... he's going to regret the day he crossed my path and put all of my friends in danger!_

With that, they all began running towards the dam as fast as they could.

"Uryu! URYU!" cried Ichigo as the dam came into view.

"Ichigo! Look! There are the aqueducts!" Rukia yelled, pointing towards several deep holes in the ground, all of them caged off at the top.

"Uryu! Uryu!" Ichigo called again. Renji and Rukia also began calling his name.

"I-Ichigo? Renji! Rukia!" cried a voice from one of the ducts.

"Uryu!" Ichigo cried, running over to the duct where the voice had come from. Looking down into it, he saw a figure floating about halfway up... and water pouring in from two pipes also inside the duct.

"Uryu! Don't worry! We're going to get you out of there!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ichigo! Hurry, please! It's been filling up quickly for a while now and I'm starting to get tired!" Uryu cried.

_Wow... Uryu actually sounds really scared... I've never seen him like this before..._ Ichigo thought. He then began to pull at the cage with all of his strength. _Come on! There has to be a way to open this thing! How else would he have gotten in there?_

"Just hang on, Uryu! You're going to be fine!" Ichigo shouted, continuing to pull at the bars.

"Ichigo! Look!" Rukia said, pointing to a small lock connected to the cage.

"Great! Another lock!" Ichigo grumbled. "At least I know how to pick locks... Wait- where's my- oh, no!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Renji asked.

"It's my Swiss army knife! It's gone!" replied the other. "I knew something was up when that thing didn't show up last time! It must have taken my Swiss army knife!"

"You mean the invisible thing that keeps on making each rescue harder?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, that."

"Guys!" Uryu suddenly shouted. Looking back down, Ichigo gasped as he realized just how high the water had gotten since they had begun talking- Uryu was now three-fourths of the way to the top.

"We have to find the key! It's got to be around here somewhere!" Ichigo shouted as he, Renji, and Rukia scattered every which way looking for it.

"There!" Renji suddenly shouted. They all looked to where he was pointing at another aqueduct. Sure enough, there was something glistening at the bottom of the duct... and the duct was also three-fourths of the way full.

"What about the cage?" Ichigo asked.

"It's unlocked!" Rukia replied, opening it quickly. "Don't worry, I'll hold it open!"

Ichigo was about to jump in when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"No, I'll go. I'm probably faster," Renji stated. Ichigo glared at him for a moment before nodding. With that, Renji plunged into the water and began to swim towards the key. By now, all of the ducts were nearly full and Uryu was desperately grasping onto the cage that prevented his escape.

"Uryu! Don't worry! Renji's getting the key now! You'll be out of there soon!" Ichigo said.

"Ichigo... I'm getting really tired..." Uryu said as one of his hands left the cage.

"No! Uryu! Come on! Just hold on a little bit longer!" Ichigo cried as he grasped the hand, attempting to pull his friend back up. Uryu looked up at him with a sad smile.

"Ichigo... I'm sorry," he said as he completely let go of the bars and began to drift downwards.

"No!" Ichigo cried as he pulled Uryu's hand up a little higher to keep him from sinking any further, but it was already too late. The water had reached the top, and Uryu's head was no longer above the water- his eyes were closed.

Suddenly, he heard Rukia gasp followed by the clang of a cage door.

"Renji!" she yelled.

"What happened?" Ichigo yelled.

"I don't know! I was holding the cage open, when suddenly I was just pushed back!" she replied.

"Are you sure you didn't just fall?" Ichigo asked.

"No! I felt hands push against my arm and throw me backwards! I know I did!"

"Then it came this time, too..." Ichigo whispered.

"Ichigo! I can't get the cage to open! Renji's still in there!" Rukia said as she desperately tugged at the cage.

"Look! Whoever you are, stop this now! You can't keep doing this! You're going to kill them! Please! Stop!" Ichigo yelled as he clutched Uryu's hand more tightly in his own. Rukia gave a strong tug on the cage... which suddenly flew open, sending Rukia falling backwards onto the ground. Renji broke the surface of the water and coughed slightly before climbing out.

"Renji! Are you all right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah!" replied the thoroughly soaked other.

"Do you have the key!" asked Ichigo desperately.

Answering with a nod, the Soul Reaper thrust the key into the lock, which made a loud '_clang!_' as it was pulled off of the cage.

With a heave, Ichigo lifted Uryu out of the water laid him on the ground next to him.

"Uryu? Uryu!" he shouted, shaking the other teenager. There was no response.

"No! You won't die on me- you can't!" Ichigo yelled as he turned his friend over and began to hit him on the back. Soon, violent coughing erupted from the Quincy as he tried to dispel all of the water from his lungs.

"Uryu! Thank God!" Ichigo said as he gave a sigh of relief. The Quincy sat up with a little help from Ichigo and shivered slightly, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself while still coughing slightly. Ichigo turned as Rukia handed him the jacket he had given her earlier.

"He needs it more than I do," she said with a small smile. Ichigo smiled as well as he took the jacket and placed it around Uryu's shoulders.

"T-thank you, Ichigo," Uryu said quietly, pulling the jacket tightly around his body.

"No problem, we still have to find the guy who did this to you and everyone else," Ichigo replied.

"Everyone else?" Uryu asked.

"Yeah, it's a long story, but it all began this morning..." Ichigo said as he once again began to tell the story. Once he had finished, Uryu appeared to be deep in thought; Ichigo took the opportunity to give him back his Quincy Cross and cell phone.

"Here," he said as he passed the items.

"Thanks," Uryu said softly as he took the cross. "But could you keep the phone for a while? I don't want it getting wet..."

"Oh! Yeah! Sorry, I forgot..." Ichigo said with an embarrassed laugh as he pocketed the phone once more.

"All right- you go home now, and I'll call you once I'm finished pounding the guy who did all of this!" Ichigo said with a smile as he helped Uryu to stand up.

"What? Are you crazy? I'm going with you!" Uryu shouted.  
>"You can't! You're soaking wet! You'll get sick or something!" Ichigo argued.<p>

"I will not! And look- the wind's drying me off already!"

"I don't care! It's too dangerous! You're not going!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you're NOT!"

"Yes, I AM!"

"I CAN'T RISK YOU GETTING HURT!"

Uryu's eyes went wide as he abruptly shut his mouth.

"Wh- what did you just say?" he whispered as Ichigo stared at the ground, his eyes unable to be seen through his hair.

"You almost drowned just now, Uryu... And that- that may have been one of the scariest moments of my entire life," Ichigo began. "The others were nowhere near as close to death as you were just now, and it scared me. I couldn't bear the thought of losing any of my friends, so I want you to go home now, Uryu- please."

Uryu stared at Ichigo for a moment before closing his eyes and smiling and sighing softly.

"That speech may have work with Chad and Orihime, but me? Honestly, Ichigo, you know me better than that," he said smugly. Ichigo looked up with a surprised expression.

"I'm going with you- no matter what," Uryu finished. Ichigo looked ready to argue once more before he let out a long sigh.

"You're such a stubborn Quincy," he said.

"You would know," Uryu replied.

"Well, then, I guess we have one more addition to our little group," Rukia said.

"Welcome to the team who's gonna put this guy in a world of hurt!" Renji added with a smirk.


	7. Conclusion

"Well, then, I guess we have one more addition to our little group," Rukia said.

"Welcome to the team who's gonna put this guy in a world of hurt!" Renji added with a smirk.

Uryu and Ichigo both smiled slightly.

"Okay, so where do we find this guy?" Uryu finally asked.

Everyone went silent immediately.

"Uh..."

"Well..."

"I guess we never really thought about that..."

Uryu sighed disappointedly. "Didn't he leave a clue to his whereabouts? _Anything_?"

"Well, you're the smart one! You figure it out! All of this thinking has really worn me out!" said Ichigo as he thrust the note into Uryu's hands.

"Of course it has," said the Quincy smugly. "Honestly, where _would_ you be without me?"

"Whatever! Just read it and come up with an amazing plan like you always do!" Ichigo said as he crossed his arms and looked away. Uryu smiled as he read the note.

"Hmmm, there's really nothing that would strike the common eye as something out of place..." Uryu began as the others sighed. "But, then again, I'm don't use the common eye. Look here."

Uryu held out the note. "It says 'See you at the finish line'. That's a phrase that's very commonly used and never really taken seriously. But this time, I think it means just what it says. Isn't the old race track just a few minutes away?"

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah! I used to go there all the time as a kid!"

"I think that our best bet would be to go there- to the finish line," Uryu finished.

"You're right... I probably never would have given that sentence a second glance..." Ichigo said as they all stood up once more.

"Thank goodness Uryu's here; now we don't have to figure things out all on our own!" Renji said.

"Gee, thanks... It's nice to know the real reason why you rescued me..." Uryu said as he sweat dropped.

"Never mind that, now," Rukia said. "We have to get to the race track. It's twelve minutes until Midnight, and I think we should get there before then just in case this guy has something else up his sleeve if we're late."

"Yeah, you're right," Ichigo agreed as they all began to run towards the race track.

"So, who do you think could have done this?" Uryu huffed as they all continued running.

"I don't know!" Ichigo replied. "I can't think of anyone who may have a grudge against me right now!"

"Well, gee, that helps!" Uryu said sarcastically.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough!" Rukia said as the race track came into view. They all slowed to a walking pace as they neared the doors. Ichigo pulled one open.

"They're unlocked, even though it's closed; this is definitely the right place," he said. They all entered cautiously and headed for the track itself. The doors were open.

"Ichigo... This feels like a trap..." Uryu said nervously.

"I was thinking the same thing, but we need to know who's behind all of this, so we have to go out there," replied the other.

Uryu nodded as he followed Ichigo through the open doors and onto the race track.

"Wow- this place is huge..." Rukia said as she surveyed the area.

"I know... Look- there's the finish line," said Ichigo as he pointed to the black-and-white checkered line on the ground ahead of them.

"Okay... What now?" asked Renji as they all walked up to the line.

"I don't know, but I'm sure that this is where we're supposed to b-"

Ichigo's sentence was cut off abruptly as the massive lights surrounding the track suddenly turned on. The group all squinted and shielded their eyes from the lights now directed straight at them.

"Welcome, Ichigo Kurosaki," said a voice from the loud speaker. "I am impressed that you managed to figure out all of my clues... But disappointed at the fact that you needed help from your friends for each one."

Ichigo growled slightly. "Who are you! What do you want?"

"Tsk, tsk, Ichigo Kurosaki. You shouldn't rely so much on your friends; they won't always be there for you. In fact, I bet that one day your beloved friends will even betray you."

"Don't say that! My friends would never betray me!" Ichigo shouted.

"Oh, really? Well, then, let's find out."

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo gasped and turned around. "Orihime! What are you doing here?"

"I- I got a call... It said to come to the race track immediately... It said that everything would be solved there... So here I am," the obviously frightened teenage girl replied. Chad, who had just shown up behind her, merely nodded in agreement.

"You should go home! Now! Who knows what this nut-job will do to you if you don't leave!" Ichigo shouted.

"Oh- it's not them you should be worried about, Ichigo; I'm already through with them," boomed the voice once more. "You have already shown your loyalty by rescuing them; I have merely brought them here to test their loyalty, as well."

"What- What do mean their loyalty?" Ichigo asked.

"You have proven that you will do anything- even risk your life- for the lives of your friends. Now, I am giving them the same option," the voice continued. "As of right now, there are exactly five guns aimed at you. Each gun contains one bullet, and I myself have the trigger to set them all off. Five guns- five bullets- five friends."

"What? You don't mean to say that-" Ichigo began.

"If your friends all truly care for you, they will save you from the bullets when I trigger the guns to go off in precisely thirty seconds."

"That- that's just plain IDIOTIC! I don't see any guns!" Ichigo shouted.

"Well I suppose your friends will be just fine then, right?" said the voice. "Fifteen seconds left..."

Ichigo was about to break down right there. "W-Well, you obviously can't follow me with the guns!" he yelled as he began to move. Suddenly, two hands appeared from the ground and held his feet in place. "What the-"

"Ichigo!" Orihime screamed.

"That must be the thing that kept on showing up with each rescue!" Uryu shouted.

"Time's up!" boomed the voice.

At that precise moment, every single one of Ichigo's friends were forced to make a decision- a decision that would alter their future no matter what they chose. Before he even heard the guns go off, Chad had already started running towards Ichigo; Orihime was not far behind him. Renji and Rukia quickly flash-stepped to his side just as the guns fired. Uryu used Hirenkyaku to move to Ichigo not a millisecond after he heard the shots. Everything went in slow motion to Ichigo as his eyes widened and he realized that all five of his closest friends were now protecting him with their own bodies- acting as human shields to keep the bullets from hitting him.

Renji was the first to be hit, Chad not long after- both of them falling backwards and hitting the ground with no more than a surprised gasp. Orihime had still been running at the time; she never even realized the bullet had hit her in the back until she looked up and saw Ichigo's horror-stricken face. A single tear ran down her face, her mouth moving to form the words "I'm sorry" as she fell to the ground. Rukia was next as Ichigo heard her hit the ground just as soon as Orihime. He turned to see her desperately reaching for him before her hand dropped to the ground as well. Uryu now stood directly in front of Ichigo and gave a startled gasp as he felt the bullet hit his midsection. He fell backwards straight into Ichigo, who fell to his knees in shock, the thing holding his legs disappearing.

He looked around him at his friends now lying on the ground, silent- unmoving. He saw their blood beginning to pool on the ground... Uryu's blood began to stain his clothes. His body had caught up with his mind as it finally registered what had just happened. His vision became blurry as tears began to fall in rivulets down his face. He threw back his head and let out an anguished scream as he continued to cry.

_This has to be a dream! It- it has to be! If it isn't..._

"NOOOOOOOO!" he cried. "Why! Why would you do this to me? WHY! I won your challenge! I rescued all of my friends! If- if you were just going to kill them anyway, then why! Why..." Ichigo trailed off as his sobs continued, rendering him unable to say anymore. He jerked his head up suddenly when he felt a warm hand lightly rest against his back. "What the-!"

"Do you understand now what I've been trying to tell you, Ichigo?" asked the shaggy blonde staring at him from underneath his hat.

"What- but- KISKE!" Ichigo yelled. "What the heck are you doing here!"

"Oh, you know, it's just that leisurely stroll I take every time I feel a certain Substitute Soul Reaper isn't treating his friends properly..." The shopkeeper was silenced swiftly by a fist placing itself firmly into the back of his head.

"What the- You mean this was all YOUR doing? You were the one who sent the note? You were the one who put all my friends in situations where they could DIE?" Ichigo yelled.

"Now, now, I was always close by in case something went wrong..."

"THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS!" Ichigo shouted, pointing to his friends lying on the ground around him.

Urahara looked around innocently before putting on a wide grin. "I call it a few people hit by harmless blanks filled with fake blood and covered in sedatives."

Ichigo stared at the man as if he had just grown two heads. "But- but- WHY?"

"Because, Ichigo, you have to learn when enough is enough," Urahara replied, standing up and looking away. "Lately, you haven't been treating your friends very well. In fact, I think you've even gone as far as taking them for granted."

"What! I don't think so-"

"How did you feel when you received the note I sent you?" Urahara asked, effectively silencing the other. "Surprised? Shocked? Stunned? You didn't think that anything like that could happen to your friends did you? At least, not while you were protecting them..."

Ichigo looked down silently, beginning to realize just what Urahara meant.

"There are many things wrong in this world. Everyday there is more killing, more pain and anguish, more war and controversy, more suffering. But it's not until you actually see the people you care about suffer and die that you realize just how much they meant to you... and how much you've taken them for granted," the shopkeeper continued. "You see, you tend not to think that your friends could die so easily while you're around to protect them- or that they might die right in front of your very own eyes. Life is not something you can take for granted, Ichigo; your friends could die at any time in any place- would you be prepared for that? From the reaction you gave earlier, I would say no..."

Ichigo seemed livid by the time Urahara had finished. "How- how can you say that I take my friends for granted? How could you say that I don't realize how much they mean to me? My friends mean everything to me! And I- I..." Ichigo trailed off as memories suddenly came flooding back to him- memories of certain times in his life when he was with his friends and simply shoved them away. When Orihime tried to tell him something important, but he didn't listen- when Uryu was in the hospital, desperately needing a friend, and he never visited- when Renji tried to help him with a fight, and he simply pushed him away.

"...I have taken them for granted," he finally whispered. "I took them all for granted... And I never told them I was sorry about it... I didn't even realize it..." He looked up at Urahara. "But I swear- I will never let myself do it again! My friends are just too important to me! They're too important for me to take them for granted any longer..."

"Well, yeah, I can tell your friends are important to you from the way you're snuggling with Uryu now..." Urahara said with a wide, childish grin.

Ichigo's face turned three different shades of red before he dropped the Quincy onto the ground roughly. "What-! But I wasn't-! He fell right into me!"

"Now, Ichigo! That wasn't very nice! Just because you aren't taking your friends for granted anymore doesn't mean you can just throw them on the ground! Especially when it's the one you seem the most emotionally attached to..."

Ichigo whacked him on the head. "What? I'm STRAIGHT, you dirty old man!" he yelled loudly.

Urahara laughed as he stood up, before suddenly feigning seriousness. "You have learned well, my young pupil," he said. "Remember this and don't forget it: friendship never dies!"

Ichigo, still fuming, stood up as well, shouting after the shopkeeper. "And what's that supposed to mean? It contradicts everything you just said!"

The man was already running towards the exit by the time Ichigo was finished. "I have absolutely no idea!" he replied with a wave of his hand.

"Crazy old man! I'm gonna kill you for all of this!" Ichigo yelled. He was about to run after him, when suddenly Orihime began to stir.

"Huh? What happened? Wasn't I-" she began sitting up slowly.

Ichigo sighed loudly before plopping back down onto the ground. "I'll explain later, Orihime, but first I think we should wake the others up so that they can hear the bizarre story, too... " He moved over to Rukia's side and began to shake her shoulder.

"Oh... Right," Orihime said dazedly as she moved to Uryu's side and began to gently shake him as well. As everyone woke up, they were all thoroughly surprised at the fact that they were still alive and turned to Ichigo for an explanation, which he gave after they were all awake.

"Well... I can honestly say I wasn't expecting _that_," Rukia said aloud once Ichigo was finished.

"So that means that the large figure I saw last night must have just been Tessai..." Uryu mused.

"And that spiritual pressure I was sent to investigate along with that thing that kept on making each rescue harder must have just been Urahara up to another one of his dirty tricks!" Renji added heatedly.

"I can't believe Urahara would go so far... Though I suppose, in a way, this _has_ brought us all a lot closer together," Rukia said.

"Yeah, I guess," Ichigo said, still annoyed at the fact that he had once more been tricked by the ex-Soul Reaper Captain.

A few moments of silence passed before Ichigo spoke up once more. "By the way... why did you guys do that? Why did you all take the bullets for me? Why did you choose to die... just to keep me alive?"

There was a moment of silence among the friends before Orihime walked up to Ichigo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Because, Ichigo, you're the one who brought us all together and made us such close friends," she said with a smile. "You and I were friends first, and then you befriended Chad, and then you met Rukia, and Renji, and now after all this time even Uryu has finally become your friend." A slight scoff could be heard from the direction of the Quincy, but Orihime shrugged it off with a roll of her eyes. "Ichigo, we- we love you. You're kind of the leader around here; and if you're in danger of being killed, well, better us than you. You can always find more friends, but us? We could never do that..."

Ichigo gasped lightly. "How could you say that? I could never find any friends better than you guys- and that's a fact, no arguments! You guys are the best friends I've ever had... And I know that I've been taking you for granted, but I really don't mean to! You guys are way more important than you think! Why can't you just realize that I couldn't stand to lose you all!"

The five friends surrounding Ichigo had wide eyes as they registered what he had just said. Orihime was the first to snap out of it, her expression softening with a smile. With tears beginning to flow down her face, she leaned down and hugged the orange-haired shinigami in front of her.

"Thank you, Ichigo."

The others began to smile as well, nodding to him that they mean to say the same thing. Ichigo smiled and leaned into the hug... before snapping his eyes open and looking at Uryu.

"Aw, man, Uryu! You got fake blood all over my jacket!" he complained. Uryu looked down to find that he was indeed still wearing Ichigo's jacket from before, having never taken it off. He blushed slightly and slid the jacket off.

"Oh- well _sorry_, my bad," he said sarcastically, handing it back to Ichigo.

"Whatever!" the other replied. The other four friends broke into laughter after a moment of silence.

"Well, at least we know some things never change!"

"I guess everything's back to normal if Ichigo and Uryu have already started to annoy each other again!"

Ichigo and Uryu both gave them irritated looks before sighing and laughing slightly themselves.

_Yeah, everything's back to normal..._ Ichigo thought. _Except for one thing- I will never EVER take my friends for granted again._

...

**Ending Note (please read):** So a few of you were expecting that (well, not the cheesy ending that I had to use because I couldn't think of anything else, but the whole "test from Urahara" thing); and though I'm sure many of you were wanting a real enemy to be behind the whole shebang, I couldn't think of anyone, so I just decided to end it this way. Sorry if it disappointed you, but I thought that it made the story kind of sweet in a way. I'm also incredibly mad at the fact that Ichigo actually DOES take all of his friends for granted in the anime and manga! I just had to write this story in an attempt to fix that... even though I know it won't. Anyway, please review if you have the time, and I hope to see you at my next story. Thanks for reading and reviewing! ~GothLoner

P.S. This entire story was completely written before I even posted it, and I made absolutely no changes to it during the time it was finished and the time I posted it. Any of you who think that I may have stolen your ideas from your reviews, I didn't- you were just really good guessers.


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